Well, fourteen days ago, mom and dad went under the Homestead Act. We now own 160 acres of nice flat...nothing. I find it very boring, but I guess that's just because I'm a teenager.
We built our house soddie & to me, its pretty disgusting, but to my family, its paradise. I mean, our whole house is made of grass. Everything from the roof to the walls. I also was forced to help create it. Not fun at all. It's only been two weeks and we've already encountered bugs. Locusts, grasshoppers, mosquitoes and flies. I'm appalled by it all. But, I wasn't the only one who wasn't so happy. The look on my dads face when the flooding washed away half of our house was worse than the face of a vegetarian watching a baby calf turn into a weeks worth of food. Pretty devastating. It's also nerve wracking to see my parents complain about the problem of money. Since we're the newcomers to this Homestead Act, its been a bit challenging. Being able to live on this act can cost around $1000, and its not easy for us to afford that. My friend Laurissa (Who I've been mailing quite a bit lately) couldn't afford it, so her family lost the claim. It was pretty sad, and I feel bad for her family. I don't want our family to end up the same way, so all I can do is hope for the best. Dad's also trying to invest a machine for our land. Using a plow is a lot of work. Let alone going miles and miles to our mean neighbors to borrow it. There's quite a bit of labor to do, but we're makin' it. Diary, I think we just might make it.
Well, fourteen days ago, mom and dad went under the Homestead Act. We now own 160 acres of nice flat...nothing. I find it very boring, but I guess that's just because I'm a teenager.
We built our house soddie & to me, its pretty disgusting, but to my family, its paradise. I mean, our whole house is made of grass. Everything from the roof to the walls. I also was forced to help create it. Not fun at all. It's only been two weeks and we've already encountered bugs. Locusts, grasshoppers, mosquitoes and flies. I'm appalled by it all. But, I wasn't the only one who wasn't so happy. The look on my dads face when the flooding washed away half of our house was worse than the face of a vegetarian watching a baby calf turn into a weeks worth of food. Pretty devastating. It's also nerve wracking to see my parents complain about the problem of money. Since we're the newcomers to this Homestead Act, its been a bit challenging. Being able to live on this act can cost around $1000, and its not easy for us to afford that. My friend Laurissa (Who I've been mailing quite a bit lately) couldn't afford it, so her family lost the claim. It was pretty sad, and I feel bad for her family. I don't want our family to end up the same way, so all I can do is hope for the best. Dad's also trying to invest a machine for our land. Using a plow is a lot of work. Let alone going miles and miles to our mean neighbors to borrow it. There's quite a bit of labor to do, but we're makin' it. Diary, I think we just might make it.
May 17, 1882.
Sincerely,
Mary-Beth Cheyenne Norma-Jean